Brand Personality of Harley- Davidson – The Rebel’s Brand

Harley-Davidson is one of those companies that does not have a single customer. It has fans. This is one of the things you often find with brands that have a very strong personality. You ether love them or you hate them. There is no in between. Everyone has an opinion about Harley-Davidson motorcycles and the people who ride them.

Harley-Davidson was born in 1903 when William Harley and Arthur Davidson created their first bike in a 10-foot by 15-foot wooden shed in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They did not look like rebels or outlaws. They looked like perfect gentlemen, with short, neatly combed hair and gentleman’s suits. But there was one thing they had in common. Their eyes had the burning instinct of people who like to challenge the status quo. This is something that you can see even from old faded photographs of these two remarkable men. From those beginnings, the rebellious Harley-Davidson is synonymous with the rebel on two wheels. This personality has effectively differentiated Harley-Davidson from all the other bike manufacturers in the world.

Is it the best bike? Not necessarily. There was a time when Harley-Davidson looked like it might succumb to a Japanese assault on its home turf. The bikes from Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki were better built, faster, had better handling and were cheaper. But Harley-Davidson survived, coming back from the brink better, bigger and stronger. That is the power of the personality in differentiating a brand and keeping it alive during rough patches.

The Harley-Davidson fans keep singing, “Yeah, a Harley-Davidson may not be the fastest thing there is on the road but that is not the point of Harley. You buy Harley for the sound, smell and look. You buy it to buy into the Harley-Davidson mystique. ” Well that sounds to us like a strong personality that sets it apart from the crowd.

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